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Finally, Conrad is out of Order

Years after his incarceration in the U.S., Conrad Black has lost his battle to remain a member of the Order of Canada. (Randy Risling / Toronto Star)

Sat., Feb. 8, 2014

Re: Black says he resigned from Order, Feb. 4

Black says he resigned from Order, Feb. 4

I have been closely following the intense coverage you have been giving to Conrad Black when he was recently stripped of his Order of Canada for his financial misadventures.

In the interest of all concerned could this all have not been more fruitfully handled by having Conrad being obliged to take financial counselling from Gord Nixon, Royal Bank chief executive who got a final pay raise of 1 per cent for his last full year? Nixon also joined an exclusive club of the Royal Bank’s top five executives who received a 7 per cent increase in compensation to nearly $477 million.

The Star’s Feb. 1 article states that he was paid $12.7 million, up from $12.6 million he made in 2012, along with a $2.93 million cash bonus and $6.65 million in shares and other compensations.

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Apparently Nixon has successfully negotiated this minefield without losing any arms or legs and maybe his expertise could be helpful to Conrad.

Frank Kennedy, Scarborough

I am going to send a letter to the advisory board of the Order of Canada, alias the “snobocracy.” In it I am “demanding” an Order of Canada to be granted to me as soon as possible, for being a good tax-paying citizen. If I will not be accepted into the Order, then in my letter I will tell them that I do not want it. But that’s “only” if they say I will not be accepted.

Thanks Conrad for the great tip of the year on how to try and cover one’s backside. You have the makings of a good politician. Preferably in England.

William Arsenault, Napanee

Now that Mr. Black has finally seen the light and “said that he gave up his Order of Canada of his own volition,” maybe he’ll do us the ultimate courtesy and leave Canada altogether. Show of hands, anyone?

Rita Maio, Thornhill

Unlike many Canadians, I admire Conrad Black who stands in dignity despite being screwed by the American judicial system. He has also to confront the losers in our country who get their cheap thrills in schadenfreude. This tall poppy refuses to be cut down.

Jacob Mendlovic, Toronto

The common presumption is that Conrad Black lost his Order of Canada because of a criminal conviction in a foreign country. Would this standard apply to a reporter convicted of the crime of offending the government is some despotic country? Or to someone convicted of homosexuality in certain African countries? Or to someone convicted of blasphemy in a Muslin country? The latter two are crimes in those lands and carry the death penalty.

Should a military veteran lose his medal for bravery because of a cowardly act years later? He remains a hero regardless. Is the Order of Canada a carrot for good deeds or a stick against other behaviour?

The advisory council of the Order of Canada provides elaborate reasons for giving awards. It must explain with equal elaboration why awards are rescinded. Otherwise, the suspicion lingers that decisions are made in some dark corner.

Raymond Peringer, Toronto

Neither Garth Drabinsky nor Conrad Black should have been stripped of their Order of Canada. Was it given for their good legal behaviour or for their contribution to their country?

Drabinsky gave much as a producer of outstanding theatre. Black wrote three fine biographies and through the National Post, regardless of its political slant, influenced an improvement in Canadian newspapers. Shaming them in this way is narrow and sanctimonious.

George Edward Hart, Toronto

It’s hard to understand how disgraced mogul Conrad Black was dumped from the Order of Canada only now after he had served 37 months in U.S. prison for his 2007 fraud and obstruction of justice convictions.

Following Black’s membership in the Order in 1990, there were many allegations of his questionable business practices since then, and without any proper oversight from the Order of Canada or from the justice system for that matter.

Perhaps the advisory council to this prestigious order needs to rethink its criteria for its members’ ethical behaviour — or transform its name to the Disorder of Canada.

Robert Ariano, Scarborough

I have nothing against Conrad Black — he’s an interesting Canadian (technically, ex-Canadian) character who has entertained us with his numerous shenanigans, but removing him from the Order of Canada is the right move, for it maintains the dignity and authenticity of the Order.

If the Order is to mean anything, people who are felons with jail sentences should not be Order of Canada material, no matter who they are. Otherwise, this would open the floodgates for every kind of person with questionable reputations and the Order of Canada would eventually turn into a cheap, tacky, crackerjack-like prize.

Douglas Cornish, Ottawa

Finally, the advisory council for the Order of Canada has removed this prestigious award from someone who is unworthy of the honour. The sarcastic statement, “It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” is certainly apropos in this instance.

Warren Dalton, Scarborough

Why is Conrad Black still in this country? When he was released from prison in Florida it was announced that he would be allowed to return to Canada but only for one year. That was almost two years ago and he’s still here. Not only that, he’s working as a journalist and actively partaking in the buildup to Toronto’s municipal election this fall. Why has he not been deported by now?

Bob Larocque, Carrying Place

I hope this defrocking happened early enough in the day to get Lord Black’s bile up to the spray-vents in his throat, and the hamsters that power his deep-thinking wheel have a fresh snort of cocaine to send him spewing on to the Saturday Post pages — their highest purpose is to line the birdcage he projects his barren Baron’s vomit from.

Canada’s verbal Hindenburg emits gas from all orifi and settles into the nettles patch, declaring it a cruel world from this much deserved perch elevation.

David LeBlanc, Toronto

So Conrad Black has dubbed the advisory board of the Order of Canada a “snobocracy.” How ironic, the pot calling the kettle Black.

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